University centre VaraždinDepartment of Communicology and Public Relations

Place

Koprivnica

State

Croatia

Scientific field, discipline, subdiscipline

SOCIAL SCIENCESInformation and Communication SciencesPublic Relations

Study programme type

university

Study level

graduate

Study programme

Public Relations

Academic title abbreviation

mag. rel. publ.

Genre

master's thesis

Language

Croatian

Defense date

2017-04-27

Parallel abstract (English)

In last thirty years we have witnessed major changes in communication at all levels of society,
which is a direct consequence of the development of digital technology, the information
industry and the media. Thanks to the Internet, communication has become more intense and
straightforward, and its users have been given a chance to form public opinion to certain
degree. But apart from all these advantages, new technologies have also brought new
challenges for journalists, especially when it comes to socially responsible journalism.
This paper presents an overview of the changes that have led to such a situation. By
analyzing the results of the survey, compared to the case studies, on the example of an
independent portal TRIS, the paper highlights guidelines for more socially responsible
independent Internet media.
Independent journalist portal TRIS has managed to attract a permanent audience of about
60000 readers per month, without investing in distribution and promotion of its content. Since
the portal mostly relies on socially responsible, and not entertainment contents, this result
issatisfactory.
But for portal to reach wider audience, it is necessary to make some changes. The case study,
as well as the results of the survey, point to the need to adapt the strategy for social media
acting, primarily through greater engagement of their users. Research also suggests that
commercial use of Google and Facebook should be used for the same purpose, since
communication on the Internet takes place primarily on their platforms, which significantly
limits the possibilities of organic (unpaid) reach or distribution of media content.